The International Trade Center (ITC) conducted an Export Management Coaching Initiative wrap up event for the European Union (EU)-funded Ready4Trade Central Asia project on 2 December 2021.

The event showcased project results and lessons learned from the Export Management Coaching Initiative (EMCI) in Turkmenistan. Representatives of the EU Delegation to Turkmenistan, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as Ready4Trade project team in Turkmenistan, were in attendance, in total around 70 participants.

Implementation of this initiative became possible due to close cooperation with the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan – the national institutional partner.

Ms. Renata Wrobel, First Counsellor, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the EU to Turkmenistan: “Export coaching initiative is a big support to local MSMEs and it’s obvious that ITC Turkmenistan team has successfully completed it. There are around 10 women-led MSMEs in Turkmenistan that have passed coaching sessions – this is very important for the EU to ensure gender equality and inclusive environment. It is also important for the EU that there are enterprises among Turkmen SMEs which contribute to the environment protection by producing eco-friendly products, such as re-usable calico bags and the goods from recycled paper.”

The wrap up event presented the results of the EMCI to key local partners and reflected on the lessons learned from the coaching missions delivered to about 40 Turkmen MSMEs throughout 2021. The EMCI, which was launched early 2021, has been offering practical and action-oriented advisory services to businesses through the on-the-job coaching delivered by the local experts. These local experts have extensive experience in the fields of import/export, certification, freight forwarding and logistics.

The participants had an opportunity to articulate their observations and recommendations with regard to the development of the Export Management Coaching Initiative in Turkmenistan and options available to ensure project sustainability in the future. MSMEs were able to share their experiences, reflecting upon the changes they have made to their export operations over the past few months. During the event, a project team has shared success stories and best practices covering few companies participating in the program. Also, a small exhibition was held to showcase the assortment of goods produced by the Turkmen companies for local and international markets. At the end of the event, the beneficiary MSMEs were awarded certificates of completion for their training.

“Today, getting access to international markets is not only a nice opportunity to generate more revenues and scale up product sales. For many SMEs that think of their future it becomes a matter of success and even survival in the long run. Geographic expansion of business operations has developed into a global trend over the past few decades that is mandated by the contemporary economic environment and challenges. I hope that our Export Management Coaching Initiative succeeded to support local SMEs in the accomplishment of their objectives to access markets beyond Turkmenistan and particularly in solving practical day-do-day issues of export operations. I would like to thank all enterprises that participated in EMCI for their active engagement and wish them great success in the future”, said Sanjar Hudaynazarov, lead coach of ITC Turkmenistan.

The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is a joint initiative of the European Union and the International Trade Centre. Its aim is to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the region. Beneficiaries of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project include governments, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular women-led enterprises, and Business Support Organizations. The project operates in 5 countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.